Malcolm X Funeral Draws Thousands

Feb. 27, 1965 - Nearly 2,000 persons jammed a Harlem church today for the funeral of Malcolm X, slain Black Nationalist leader.

Malcolm’s funeral — the climax of six tense days that followed his murder — attracted thousands of persons and scores of police to the Church of God in Christ at 147th St. and Amsterdam Ave. At least 200 persons were turned away from the service which, although in a Protestant church, was conducted according to the Muslim rite. 

The mourners, mostly women, stood quietly in line outside the church waiting to be admitted as hundreds of police patrolled the streets. Other policemen stood on the rooftops of buildings in the vicinity of the church. At the church door, policewomen checked pocketbooks and parcels for hidden weapons, and Malcolm’s key Black Nationalist followers studied each face that passed.

The tall, goateed Malcolm was praised in messages from Negro and civil rights group from around the country, read by Negro actor Ossie Davis and his wife, actress Ruby Dee.

The crowd that entered the church included James Farmer, director of the Congress of Racial Equality, who told reporters he had come to pay respects to Malcolm X despite the fact that they had disagreed. 

To the rear of the altar, 50 reporters and photographers and television cameramen were jammed beneath two side murals depicting scenes in the life of Jesus Christ. The funeral was broadcast as it took place on NBC-TV.

While the rite was proceeding inside, the crowd continued to grow outside.

A white girl in her mid-20’s, speaking in an English accent, said of Malcolm: “He was a fascinating man — a remarkably fascinating man. That’s why I’m here.”

And Mrs. Lucille Levvy, a Negro, of 282 Lenox Ave., said: “I’m paying my respects to the greatest black man in this century. He’s a black man, don’t say colored.”

Next to her, standing in the cold, another Negro woman said: “Our heart is broken for the genius we loved. That man was a genius, a true genius. He died for what he believed in.”

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